


Some Unspoken Thing

by Hippiebuckyharrington



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Accidental Confession, Billy is worried, Hurt Steve Harrington, I did what I want with canon, Idiots in Love, Kissing, Little bit of angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Mostly not, Mutual Pining, Season 3? I Don't Know Her, Sort Of, Steve gets high on pain meds, Swearing, That's it, nothing graphic, that's the fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:13:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22686796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hippiebuckyharrington/pseuds/Hippiebuckyharrington
Summary: "Tell me it's one of the rugrats. Tell me Whiny Wheeler got hurt, or Sinclair. Tell me you are calling me because you're tired and need a ride. Hell, tell me you're calling because you need to talk to me about boy trouble and this is the only time you have." Billy begs. Max swallows so loud Billy hears it through the phone. Panic is coiling in his gut, cold and heavy."It's not Mike, or Lucas. Everyone else is fine." She pauses, ignoring his last hopeful comment, and sucks in a deep breath. Billy holds his. "Steve got hurt. He jumped in front of the demo dog to protect Dustin. It got him, we're at the hospital." Max says, all in a rush. Billy's legs buckle.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Comments: 6
Kudos: 308
Collections: Harringrove Week of Love, harringrove for Australia





	Some Unspoken Thing

**Author's Note:**

> This is my Harringrove for Australia fic for wingedbears. They wanted accidental confessions and Billy blushing. This got longer than expected, so I hope you like it, thanks for the bid!!!!!!!!!  
> It's also my first fill for Harringrove Week of Love, day 3: accidental confession.  
> Title comes from Guardians of the Galaxy 2, from Quill and Gamora.

It takes him too long to figure out what that noise is, the annoying shrieking from somewhere beyond the warm cocoon of his blankets. He shoves his head under the pillow, willing it to stop. It does, and Billy breathes a sigh of relief, settling back to sleep when it starts again. 

"Mother Fuck!" He groans, hauls out of bed, and rips the bedroom door open. He blinks into the dark hallway, and finally places the noise. 

"Who the hell is calling at three am?!" He shouts at the phone, glaring at it when it dares to ring while he’s yelling. He scrubs his face tiredly. He grabs the phone roughly from its cradle and smashes it against his face. 

"I swear to god, whoever you are better have an in-fucking-credibly good reason for calling me!" He barks into the receiver. Someone takes a shaky breath. 

"Billy, it's me." Max whispers. Billy instantly feels like he's been doused in cold water. 

"Fuck. Maxine, tell me you're ok, and you didn't go monster hunting." He mutters voice low, leaning forward to drop his forehead to the wall next to the phone. 

"I'm fine. I'm not hurt. And the monster is gone, now." Max says, voice still soft. 

"Then why the fuck are you calling me at the asscrack of dawn?!" Billy demands.

"Because…. Uh…. Well, I'm not hurt, but…" She's stalling. Billy's blood, which was feeling less icy at her original answer, freezes again. If Max is stalling that means only one thing. He can hear someone in the background mutter at her to just rip the band aide off.

"Tell me it's one of the rugrats. Tell me Whiny Wheeler got hurt, or Sinclair. Tell me you are calling me because you're tired and need a ride. Hell, tell me you're calling because you need to talk to me about boy trouble and this is the only time you have." Billy begs. Max swallows so loud Billy hears it through the phone. Panic is coiling in his gut, cold and heavy. 

"It's not Mike, or Lucas. Everyone else is fine." She pauses, ignoring his last hopeful comment, and sucks in a deep breath. Billy holds his. "Steve got hurt. He jumped in front of the demo dog to protect Dustin. It got him, we're at the hospital." Max says, all in a rush. Billy's legs buckle. 

"Fuck." He says, as he lurches further into the wall. 

"They just took him back. There was a lot of blood, and his side and back are all ripped up." Max says, a little breathlessly. She knows him well; knows he needs the details with no sugarcoating. "Joyce and Hop are here, and we called Owens. I don't know when we can see him." She adds. Billy nods, feeling numb. 

"I'm coming." He whispers. 

“He will be in surgery or asleep for a while, you don’t have to come right this second. I just wanted to let you know." Max says, but kind of like she doesn't think it’ll dissuade him. "But I wouldn't be mad if you came.”

"I have to be there. I can't just sit at home if he's… if he’s…." Billy says, and then he hiccups a little. 

"We're in the waiting room." She whispers, the line clicks as she hangs up. Billy takes a deep breath and slams the phone down in its cradle. 

He runs to his room and yanks on his boots, doesn't even lace them. He grabs a ratty sweatshirt hanging out of the dresser and pulls it on, then stumbles out to his kitchen, yanks on his jacket and grabs his keys. Billy dashes down the metal stairs to his car. A neighbor shouts at him to keep it down, but Billy isn't listening. The Camaro roars to life, and then tears out of the parking lot. 

It takes 3 minutes and 43 seconds too long to get to the hospital, and Billy parks like an asshole, but can't bring himself to care. He runs inside and immediately spots the cluster of people he's looking for. They all turn and look at him. 

"Billy?" Joyce Byers says, standing a little. "Are you ok?" 

"Steve…" Billy croaks out. Joyce's face softens a little, and she shoves some coats off a chair for him. He collapses into it. 

Max tucks herself into the chair next to him and leans against his shoulder. He kisses her hair and stares down the nurse's station in the corner. 

"Dustin." Billy calls, and the boy jolts and looks up. "Tell what happened." 

"El found the demo dog on accident checking on the town. We were at Steve's house already, for movies and pizza." Dustin starts. 

"I know, Dustin. I was invited too, but I had to work." Billy says, and he feels a coil of guilt wriggle in his gut. He moved out of his Dad's house the second he could, and into his own apartment, but he has to work two jobs to pay for it. It's worth it, and Steve comes over a lot, for movies and food, or to just sit around together. And Max is over all the time. But the two jobs mean he misses a lot of the Party gatherings.

"Oh, right." Dustin continues. "Anyway, we all decided to go scope it out, and then call Hop if anything happened."

"You should have called me right away." Hop grumbles from his spot next to Joyce. 

"We know, but we didn't. Anyway, we went to where El had seen it and we were just listening and look for rot, or anything similar to last time. It snuck up on us, he saw it first. It was coming straight for me, he shoved me out of the way, and turned in time for it to grab him in the back. It was weak, had been trapped outside of the upside down for a while. El got it with her power and it died. We rushed him here." Dustin says. Billy nods. 

"Stupid fuckin hero complex is gonna get him killed." Billy mutters. 

"Are you mad at me?" Dustin hedges. Billy sighs.

"No, I'm not mad. I'm mad at him for being an idiot, and I'm mad at you, Maxine, for not calling me, and you all were stupid, but I'm not mad at you, Steve’s Favorite." Billy says. Dustin grins. 

"I love that nickname." He mutters, Billy smiles a little. 

"Sorry I didn't call." Max whispers. Billy tugs her close. 

"You know I would have come in a heartbeat." He mutters. 

"I know, but you worked a lot yesterday, and you were tired. We thought we had it handled." She says. Billy sighs, kisses her head again. 

"I'm never too tired for my family, why do you think I'm here?" Billy mutters. Max grins up at him, and then tugs at his jacket. He shrugs out of it, and drapes it around her shoulders. They all settle around the room then, because it's early, and there isn't much else to say or do. Billy goes back to staring at the nurse’s station, and throws an arm around Max. She curls up under his jacket and yawns.

"I've never seen him without his hair done." Will whispers to his mom, an indeterminate amount of time later. Joyce laughs a little, glancing up from her magazine. Max is asleep on Billy's shoulder, Mike and Lucas are stretched out across several chairs, sleeping. Hop went to go talk with some cops about the demo dog, and Dustin is dozing in the corner. El is asleep on Max's other side, under Hop's jacket.  
Billy touches his wild curls a little nervously, still staring at the nurses. 

"He left in quite a hurry, and his hair is the least of his worries. He had to check on Max." Joyce whispers back. 

"He's gonna be ok." Will leans forward to tell Billy. 

"He better." Billy grits out. 

"Is that Steve's sweatshirt?" Will asks. Billy glances down at it. Steve is over so much, when Billy isn't working, and sometimes when he is, that some of Steve's clothes have just migrated there. Billy hadn't meant to grab that sweatshirt necessarily, just reaching for any warmish shirt but he's glad he has it now. 

Joyce smiles at him gently, and turns back to her magazine. 

"Yeah it is, he must have left it. I just didn't want to show up shirtless." Billy whispers. Will smiles a little, knowingly, and turns back to lean against his mom. Billy pulls the collar of the sweatshirt up to his nose, and breathes deep. It still smells a little bit like Steve, even though Billy has worn it multiple times. He takes a deep breath and leans back in the chair, closing his eyes. 

It's 6:30 in the freaking morning before an exhausted looking doctor walks into the waiting room, handing a clipboard to the nurses as she does. Billy instantly straightens, leaning forward a little, jarring Max awake. 

"You folks all here for Mr. Harrington?" The doctor asks, moving her long braid off her shoulder. Everyone nods. 

"I work with Dr. Owens, I'm Dr. Forest. He was called out of time, so I stepped in. I am aware of the nature of the injuries Mr. Harrington came in with. He is out of surgery. We repaired all the damage that we could, and stitched him up. He lost a kidney, but is stable now. He's still sleeping, but should be waking up soon." Dr. Forest smiles, and glances at all of them. "I'm afraid that all of you might be too much in the room at a time, and it's not technically visiting hours, but I can let some of you go sit with him until he wakes up. Only two at a time I think." She says. Billy swallows thickly, practically shaking, needing to get to Steve. 

It's quiet for a beat, a mostly nonverbal conversation flying between the people around him. Billy doesn't see it, focused entirely on the doctor, who's smiling. 

"Billy can go see Steve." It's Dustin who speaks. "When Steve wakes up, the rest of us will go check." Dr. Forest turns her dark assessing eyes on Billy, and takes in the worn flannel sleep pants, still unlaced boots, the old, ratty sweatshirt, and his messy curls. She smiles, and nods, turning and motioning for Billy to follow. 

Max squeezes his hand, and suddenly Billy stalls. 

"It shouldn't be me, he… you guys go." Billy whispers, but he doesn't relax. 

"Go on honey, we know you need to see him. I'll take some of the kids’ home if they want, and we'll come back later ok? You sit with him. Go on." Joyce says. Billy takes a deep breath and follows Dr. Forest. 

"He's gonna be fine." She assures him as they get in the elevator. Billy just nods. Dr. Forest shows him down a hall and to a private room at the end of it. She opens the door. Billy's breath stutters. 

Steve is lying on the hospital bed, sleeping. He's pale, and he's got a bruise forming on his neck and jaw, but otherwise the damage is obscured by the blankets and the hospital gown. 

"He's going to be fine. The kids brought him in time, we fixed him. He's gonna need time to heal, but he's gonna be ok." Dr. Forest says, smiling at Billy. "I'm sure he'll be glad to see his boyfriend when he wakes up." She whispers. Billy jolts. 

"uh... I’m... We're not…." He says. Dr. Forest smiles again. 

"Whatever you say. Go, sit with him." She urges. She squeezes his shoulder and then disappears. Billy walks quietly into the room, and drags a chair closer to Steve and sits down. He reaches out and picks up Steve's hand gently in both of his. 

"You should have called me, pretty boy." Billy whispers. "I should have been there. I could have helped you. I'm gonna kill you when you wake up, we are gonna have words, I swear Harrington." Billy whispers. He reaches out and brushes some of the damp hair from Steve's face. "I'm gonna sit with you until I can yell at you for being stupid. I'm gonna be right here, pretty boy, so you sleep and when you are ready for the yelling you wake up, ok?" Billy says, debating if he should say more. 

But Steve can't hear him so he just holds Steve's hand tight and tries to memorize his face, assuring himself that Steve's ok. 

He eventually drops his head to the bed, and closes his eyes, listening to the beep of machinery and Steve’s breathing. 

"Billy?" A soft voice asks. Billy jolts awake and looks up into tired brown eyes. 

Steve smiles a little. Billy glares at him and lurches up. 

"You're such an idiot Harrington." Billy snarls, pacing at the end of the bed. Steve looks confused. "What the hell did you think you were doing, jumping in front of one of those things like that?! You could have died!" 

"But I didn’t? Why are you yelling?" Steve asks, and he sounds confused and hurt. 

"Because you are stupid! Because you went out there with the kids, and you didn't even fucking call me!" Billy cries, causing a nurse to come running over. Steve shakes his head at her. 

"He's just mad at me, he'll yell for a while and be fine. Though I don’t know why he’s yelling." Steve says, the nurse shoots Billy a look and then turns to Steve. They check his vitals, and smile at him. 

"I'm gonna give you a shot of something for the pain, it should ease some pain, and help you sleep when the yelling stops." The nurse says, and grin. They inject the stuff into Steve's IV and then scribble some things on his chart. 

"You can keep yelling hun, I just gotta wait and make sure the dose was enough and that Mr. Harrington here doesn't react badly to it." The nurse says. 

Billy is still all amped up, and the sooner he finishes yelling the sooner he can get to fussing over Steve.

"Why were you so stupid?! Harrington, you could have died?! And then what, then what was the plan? Huh? What would Dustin have done, if you'd died? What would all your little brats have done?! What the hell then?! There were better ways to handle this! You could have called me, for one, you could have called the damn police chief for another, because he has a gun?!" Billy yells. 

Steve looks a little loopy now, and he smiles a little at Billy. 

"I didnnnn' die though." He slurs. 

"Yes, but you could have! That's the whole point, Harrington, you could have died!!! Do you not understand that? You can't keep doing this!" Billy yells. Steve sighs, and looks at the nurse, who is measuring his heart rate. 

"He's mad at me." Steve whispers. The nurse chuckles. 

"Yeah, he is." They say. 

"It's ok though, he's pretty cute when he's all worked up. I’sss gonna marry him somedayyyyy, cause we’sss in love, ya know?" Steve says, brown eyes going liquid and wide. "He jusss’ don't think I lovvve him, and he's had a life you know? Do you know? And so I cannnnn't tells him, cause he'd get scared." Steve slurs. The nurse raises their eyebrows and turns to Billy who is just gaping at Steve. 

"The meds hit some people really hard, and he's had a long night. He probably isn't aware of what he's saying. I'd save your yelling for when he wakes up again." The nurse smiles gently. "Steve, sugar, you sleep it off, alright? I'll be back to check on you later." The nurse grins and leaves. Billy continues to stare at Steve, who blinks sleepily. 

"Come 'ere. You're so farrrr. Billllllly." Steve pouts and lifts his hands. Billy walks over, still staring at him. 

"Yous all red." Steve mumbles, and continues to make grabby hands. Billy shakes his head and walks around the side of the bed, sitting on the side of it, and taking Steve's hands.

"You said you loved me, so yeah I'm all red." Billy says, feeling his face get even warmer. 

"Who toldddd?!" Steve cries, looking scandalized. "Issss a secret!"

And Billy cracks up. Because only Steve could do this. He leans forward and presses his head to Steve's, and takes a deep breath. 

"Get some sleep Harrington, we can talk when you wake up." Billy says. 

"Mmmmkay, but you're gonna stay, right? I donnnn’ wanna be alone." Steve says petulantly. Billy laughs. 

"I'll be right here when you wake up, promise." Billy says. Steve nods, and then promptly falls asleep. 

Dr. Forest comes in to check in on Steve a little later, and hands Billy some Stephen King novel, saying he looked bored, and says she’ll call Joyce and Hop to update them.

Billy's reading a few hours later, not looking at Steve, so he misses when the other wakes up.

"Oh god." Steve moans from the bed. Billy drops the book and leaps up. 

"What, do you hurt? Are you bleeding? What's wrong?!" Billy asks, sitting on the edge of the bed and staring at Steve, who's covered his face with his hands. 

"Did I get high on pain meds, and tell a nurse we were gonna get married?" Steve whispers. Billy laughs a little. 

"Yeah, you did." Billy says, laughing a little. 

"And… and did… uh did I say that I loved you but you didn't know and I couldn't tell you because you'd be scared?" Steve mutters. 

"Uh… yeah you did. But don't worry, I know it was the drugs." Billy mutters. Steve sighs. 

"I wasn't lying. That really wasn't how I wanted to tell you, but I mean it." Steve whispers and parts his fingers to peer at Billy. 

"Wait. What?" Billy mutters. 

"You didn't know? You're smarter than me!" Steve says, and starts to sit up. He winces, and Billy leaps up to help him, fluffing the pillows behind him, and easing Steve back onto them. 

"We're friends." Billy explains. "Right?" 

"Billy, of course, you're my best friend in the whole world. But I went and fell for you, and it's obvious that you love me too. But Max told me that you’ve had so much in your past, and I figured we'd just figure it out eventually." Steve mutters. 

"I do love you." Billy breathes. 

"I know. You sat in a hospital all night and then yelled at me. And you’re wearing my shirt, and your hair isn’t done. I know, Bills." Steve says, and he reaches out to take Billy's hands. "I’ve never doubted how you felt about me, I just thought you knew how I felt about you. I'm sorry, I never wanted you to doubt." 

"So, you just thought I was making you wait?" Billy mutters. 

"I thought you weren't ready. That it was just some unspoken thing, and you'd talk about it when you were ready." Steve murmurs. 

"You're still an idiot Harrington, but I might be a bigger one." Billy mutters. 

"Don't you say that Billy Hargrove!" Steve says, and leans forward as much as he can and pecks Billy's lips. Billy chases him, and helps him ease down onto the pillows before kissing him again. 

"OH! We can come back!" Someone yells from the doorway. Billy pulls away, but tips his head against Steve's forehead. 

"Come in Steve's Favorite, I know you all want to see him too." Billy says. 

"My kids are here?!" Steve says, and turns to see them clustered around the doorway, shoving Billy aside slightly.

Billy moves, and Steve opens his arms. The kids all launch at him, hugging him tight, but gentle, mindful of his bandaged middle. Max turns and hugs Billy tight.

"About time." She whispers. Billy chuckles. 

"Did he yell?" Dustin asks. 

"Oh yeah. There was a lot of yelling." Steve says. 

"But then he got high on pain meds and told me he loved me, so I stopped yelling." Billy teases. Steve's eyes sparkle. 

"Yeah, but he loves me too so it works out." The kids all make disgusted noises, but Billy's just looking at Steve, and his big brown, very much alive eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on tumblr [here!](https://hippiebuckyharrington.tumblr.com/) Thank you for reading!


End file.
